The Trap
by color-schemes
Summary: To be in a movie with Tsuraga Ren is a dream come true for Kyoko. The role is ... not.
1. Chapter 1

_Title: The Trap_  
_Summary: To be in a movie with Tsuraga Ren is a dream come true for Kyoko. The role is ... not._  
_Disclaimer: Skip Beat! belongs to Yoshiki Nakamura and other people that are not me._  
_Note: This is my first chaptered story in a long time, so... *crosses fingers*. Also, for this story I'll be ignoring the Cain/Setsuna arc since I don't know what the upshots from it will be. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I love writing it!_

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**Chapter 1**

Kotonami Kanae was a confident woman. As one aspiring to be a top-class actress since she was in elementary school, she had honed those abilities required to make her acting superior to everyone else's – and confidence was certainly something necessary to both get a role and to play it well.

(Of course, breaking out of that circus of a family, with everyone living on and over each other – with no concept of personal space whatsoever! – required its own level of confidence, what with dodging the creeper vines that were her nephews and nieces simply to get in and out of the house and the tons of laundry to juggle alongside her career.)

All in all, she had always been remarkably (and justifiably) confident of her abilities and her judgment.

And now, Mogami Kyoko, looking at Kanae with teary, helpless, salvation-seeking eyes, was completely destroying her confidence in her ability to judge people.

"Mo! I can't believe I ever actually thought that you were _smart_!" Kanae muttered disgustedly as she dropped into the seat next to Kyoko.

"Moko-saaan! How can you be so cruel!" Kyoko's wail rose into the air and filled the small LME preparation room. "Here I am in the depths of despair, the most unlucky person ever to –"

"What do mean 'unlucky'? You _knew _this was going to happen. I _told_ you this was going to happen, if you kept on taking bad-girl roles – you're going to get pigeonholed."

"But – but –"

Kanae ignored her partner's stammers and continued with increasing righteousness, rising out of her chair to stare down at Kyoko. "What's more, _you_ thought it was likely too! I'll admit that your role as Natsu is really unique – it has a completely different feel to it from Mio – but the fact that you do the villain roles well only makes more directors want to cast you as that!"

"But – but – Moko-san –"

Kanae flopped back down, her ire deflating at Kyoko's whipped-dog look. "Well, so it's another villain role. If you don't like it, you don't _have_ to do it, you know."

"But, Moko-san!" Kyoko cried out, and Kanae leaned back and away from a face suddenly transformed with awe. "_Tsuruga-san_ is going to play the main character! I can't pass up this chance to act alongside him! Never!"

Kanae turned away disgustedly. "Well, you've already acted with him in _Dark Moon_, haven't you? Do you really need to act in a movie with him at the risk of getting typecasted?"

"But in Dark Moon, I had so few scenes with him! I never got the chance to really test myself against him, to see if I've grown since that time I competed against Ruriko-chan." Kyoko was staring down at the desk, lost in serious thought and completely oblivious to Kanae's confused _'Ruriko who?'_ "But now, I've got the chance to _really_ act alongside him, and to see if I can hold up my own version of Akane without getting caught up by Tsuruga-san."

Kanae stared at Kyoko's pensive face, and battled some inner demons.

(It was purely professional jealousy, at realizing how far the actor was above her, Kanae, in his career. That was all. She was _not_, definitely _not_, jealous of Tsuruga Ren's hold on Kyoko's admiration or her affections. Nope, not at all.)

Kanae let out a sigh and crossed her arms. "I suppose it might be worth it." She waited until Kyoko's surprised countenance confirmed that she was paying attention. "Director Shinkai is considered one of the rising stars of the movie world, and he's demanding enough that every movie made by him is held to a high standard. If you act in this movie, with both Tsuruga-san as hero and Shinkai Seishi as director, you'll be put straight into the spotlight in an impressive debut. Even if the role is that of a villainess, it'll give you excellent exposure, and with your abilities, I'm sure you could turn it into a unique character. But what about –"

Kanae broke off mid-sentence as a hundred pounds of ecstatic LoveMe member barreled into her arms.

"Moko-san, you're the greatest!"

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_A very short introductory chapter, but the pace will pick up! :) Comments are always, always much loved._


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you so much to everyone for reading! The fact that people took the time to review makes me go all *squee* inside :D. Enjoy!_

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**Chapter 2**

Kanae held off a joyfully-weeping-Kyoko with one hand as she picked up the script with the other. "_The Trap_. What sort of a story is it?"

Kyoko rubbed at the palm-print Kanae had put on her forehead. "It's the story of a man called Eiji, who moves to a new city for a job. At the same time, he meets and falls in love with a beautiful woman – a true ojou-san who is greatly loved by her family and who has a wonderful little poodle who follows her and who –"

Kanae hit Kyoko with the script to dispel the stars in her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I get that she's a glittering princess of moonlight. Get to your character."

"Aa. Well, at his workplace Eiji also meets Akane, who he used to date while they were in college. Although he's happy enough to see Akane again and likes working with her, he doesn't have any feelings for her. And then a murder occurs and Eiji is framed for it. The only people who seem to believe in his innocence are the ojou-san and Akane, and he goes on the run with Akane's help. Only it turns out that _Akane_ is the one who set him up, because she's convinced that he dumped her, and now she wants him back."

Kanae stared at Kyoko for a few moments. "Are you sure you want to do this movie?" she asked finally.

"I don't want to keep doing bad-girl roles forever, but it _is_ such a great opportunity to learn from Tsuruga-san. And just like you said, Sawara-san is sure working with Director Shinkai will be a really impressive debut."

"Well, yeah, that's true, but…" Kanae broke off at the innocently inquisitive expression on Kyoko's face and rubbed at her forehead bemusedly. _Should I point it out, how hard this role could become for her? But then, mentioning anything about Fuwa Sho…._ Kanae had a bone-chilling premonition of the atmosphere turning arctic – the blaze of hellish fury in Kyoko's eyes – the weird invisible… _things_… that would immobilize her and keep her captive, and shuddered. _Yeah, no need to bring that up. She may never realize that 'Akane's' situation is similar to her own._

"So, when does filming start?"

Kyoko didn't notice the abrupt turn of the conversation. "It should start next week."

Kanae raised her brows. "That's pretty quick, isn't it?"

"Actually, Director Shinkai has been preparing for the movie for a while now. The cast was decided a couple of months ago, but then the actress who was going to play Akane dropped out to do another movie."

"That's going to be little tough, then, since the rest of the cast has a head start. Though they're going to need it to stay ahead of you," she added in an aside, then hurried on before Kyoko could throw herself at Kanae again. "When is your first read-through with the cast?"

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At 8 am the next morning, Kyoko was walking up and down a deserted hallway at LME, fidgeting with the script in her hand. _I got here too early, but I was so nervous about the first read-through – though it's only the first for _me_. The other actors are probably already completely comfortable with their roles, and I'm only just starting._

Lost in her thoughts, she instinctively opened the script to her character's first appearance. _When Sawara-san first suggested the role, I was concerned about taking on yet another antagonistic character, but talking with Moko-san, and her belief that this role could become my debut, relieved me. But what still worries me is that this character actually _isn't_ like my other roles. Neither Mio nor Natsu could really have gone out and worked in the real world. Their characters were so evil precisely because they were sheltered and cut-off from mundane problems_. _But Akane – she's successfully working at a top architectural company and has completely normal friends, and all the while she has this emotional wound that's been eating away at her._ Kyoko stared at the page mechanically. _Can I _really_ portray her?_

"Kyoko-chan!"

Kyoko started, and looked up to find Yashiro and Ren walking towards her, and unconsciously her face relaxed into a smile.

"Yashiro-san, Tsuruga-san, good morning!"

"I was so happy to hear that you would be working on this movie too, Kyoko-chan!" Yashiro said. "_Both_ of us were _thrilled_," he added with sly sidelong glance at Ren.

Kyoko, of course, was obliviously bowing her thanks. "Please take care of me on this movie too!"

Ren, trying very hard to ignore Yashiro's extremely unsubtle leers at him, smiled at Kyoko. "I really was glad to hear I'd get another chance to work with you. I'm very interested in seeing how you depict Akane, considering how much skill you show in portraying dark characters."

Kyoko reddened and stammered out, "N-no! That – I don't have any skill at it! This character–" Her expression became troubled as she looked down at the script again. "I don't think I understand her."

Ren looked at her for a moment, then smiled. "Mogami-san, you've only had this role for a day. I don't think anyone could get a full grasp on their character so quickly. But getting depressed about that will definitely distract you and slow you down."

Kyoko smiled blindingly at Ren. "Yes! I will definitely work hard at understanding Akane. Without distractions!"

"That's great, Kyoko-chan," Yashiro interrupted, resisting the urge to chuckle at Kyoko's straight back. She looked like a soldier saluting her commanding officer. "But the read-through should start soon, and we shouldn't be late. It's moved to the tenth floor – that's what we came to tell you. Director Shinkai wanted to talk to you before it started."

"Ah, then I'll go on ahead!" Kyoko bowed and hurried away.

"Of course, I didn't tell her that you _volunteered_ to find her and inform her of the change," Yashiro said as they watched Kyoko disappear down the hall.

"Everyone is busy, and it's always good to help others out, isn't it, Yashiro-san?" Ren asked, as he started to follow Kyoko.

"Hmm." They walked in silence to the elevator. "Still," Yashiro added as they entered the elevator, "it's funny how you knew that Kyoko-chan had only been offered the role yesterday. I don't remember the director mentioning that."

Ren turned away for a suspiciously convenient bout of coughing.

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**_Comments and criticisms are always greatly appreciated!_**  
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